Using a self-striping yarn (KnitPicks Chroma in Groovy), I crocheted all the dots from one ball.
I love the dots-only hat, but then I thought about adding more embellishments. Now I love that hat, too.
I think the dots-only hat says, "I'm fun, but sophisticated." And the more elaborate hat (tilted crazily to one side) says, "Yea, holiday!" and "Let's party!"